


After the Finale

by Pargertwo



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Danny "Danno" Williams Whump, Gen, Season 10 episode 22
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23486677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pargertwo/pseuds/Pargertwo
Summary: Disappointed in the Series Finale, so I added my own ending.  This was originally meant to be a one-shot, but thanks to the nice comments, my imagination was re-lit, so I have added a little more.  Let me know what you think
Comments: 46
Kudos: 173





	1. Chapter 1

AFTER THE FINALE  
BY PARGERTWO

As he sensed Steve moving away down the beach, Danny slumped lower in his chair. He thought he heard Steve stop, and prayed that he wouldn’t come back. Danny wouldn’t be able to hide his tears by that point. Thankfully, he heard the footsteps continue to the house. He didn’t know quite how he knew, but he knew when Steve had left the property. He heard the door opening and closing several more times and figured that was the rest of the ohana that had come to bid Steve good-bye heading out. After a little more time had passed, Junior came out on the beach.

“Need a hand?” the younger man said, with that very hand extended. Danny was so grateful, he didn’t even employ his usual snark. The fact was, he had no idea how he would have extricated himself from the chair without the help. He grasped Junior’s hand tightly and was grateful there was no comment from Junior when he basically had to lift Danny from the chair – he just raised his eyebrows after Danny was on his feet.

“Yeah, maybe a little weaker than I thought.” Danny’s comment was meant to be light-hearted but he broke off in a bit of a sob at the end.

“Man, you’ve only been out of the hospital for a week. Frankly, I think you’re doing really great.” Junior was like a border collie as he herded Danny into the house. Tani looked up with a smile, that faltered when she saw Danny. Then she moved quickly across the kitchen, grabbing a chair to settle Danny into. He caught the quick glance she shot at Junior.

“I was thinking of ordering pizza for dinner.” She said brightly. 

Danny smiled and nodded. “That would be great. Just no pineapple.”

“You would think after the number of years you have been on this island you would have finally been willing to give it a try, but fine.” She turned to grab her cell phone.

Danny grabbed his phone and shot off a quick text to Steve – ‘missing you already.’ 

Sadly that was all too true. He understood Steve’s need to get away, just like he always understood what Steve needed, often before Steve even realized it himself. He just wished that he could have held out for a little while before he took off…Danny was feeling vulnerable…and hurt. He was in pain all over and quite debilitated. He and Steve had grown used to being vulnerable in front of each other over the years, but he was upset that he had to look that vulnerable in front of the kids – both his own and the new partners.

Danny’s cell phone started ringing and he grabbed it eagerly. After a quick moment, he responded “Hi Monkey!” to the enthusiastic greeting. He thought it was Steve responding to his text. He wasn’t disappointed … exactly … he was always thrilled to talk to his daughter. Grace was at college in LA … she was doing great, but he missed her a lot. He stopped his wayward thoughts and focused on her bright conversation.

“No, Monkey, I am doing great. Stronger every day. I will start PT next week and your Mom and Charlie will check in on me and Junior’s here, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Well, you know we talked about that. Uncle Steve had to go. It was too hard for him to stay here right now.” He listened a few more minutes, aware that Junior and Tani were trying unobtrusively not to listen, and failing miserably. He was distracted by that and getting quite agitated by what his daughter was saying.

“Grace! Stop now! We have had this conversation. You are not to be upset with Uncle Steve. He had to do this. He is not responsible for me… I am a grown man and can take care of myself.”

Danny’s face screwed up in pain. The emotional toll of arguing with Grace was exerting itself and adding to his physical difficulties. He listened to her a little more and then said, more quietly, “Grace, Monkey … we will talk about this later. I am fine. You are not to worry. You have school and finals you have to get through. You will be home in a few weeks. Everything will be fine. I will talk to you later.”

He hung up the cell phone and carefully put it on the table. He looked at Junior and Tani, who were both looking at him as though they weren’t quite sure what to say.

“Hey guys, I’m wiped. I’m really not that hungry anyway. I’m just going to go lay down. No worries.”

That would have come off a lot better if he could have gotten off the chair without Junior’s help. But there it was, that big meaty paw, ready to pry him off the chair. Much as Danny would have liked to have ignored it, that wasn’t happening.  
\---------------------------------  
A month after that conversation, a plane taxied down the runway and into the boarding gate at Oahu International. There was the usual bustle as people started rustling in their seats, cell phones being activated, seat belts being de-activated and a hundred people ready to leap to their feet to grab their belongings from the overhead.

The happily anticipated passenger was just like all the others – happy to grab their bag and hustle down the jetway and out to the arrivals area to look for the car that was picking them up.

The vehicle slid to the curb and the passenger waved excitedly while opening the door to hop in.

“Hi Mommy! Hi Charlie!” Grace, as always was enthusiastic and happy and bubbly. Rachel grabbed her for a quick hug and kiss, and then expertly piloted the car back into traffic.

“Grace!” You look wonderful! Doesn’t she look wonderful, Charlie?”

“Yep! I missed you Gracie!”

“I missed you too Charlie, but I brought you some fun things from LA.”

The family continued chatting as Rachel drove them to her home.

“How’s Danno, Mom?”

Rachel’s eyes darted toward Grace and then quickly back to the road. Grace, always conscious of the mannerisms of others, noticed how her mother’s hands seemed to grip the steering wheel a bit tighter.

“Well, Grace,” and then her eyes darted to the rear view mirror, and Grace realized she was checking on whether Charlie was listening.

“It’s okay, Mom, I’ve been talking to him. I know he hasn’t been …. Feeling great. We can talk about it later.” 

Rachel’s relief telegraphed itself through the subtle changes to her body language.

“Yes, dear. That might be for the best.”

They spent the next few hours settling Grace in her room and getting her things unpacked. Charlie was delighted with his souvenirs and Grace was quite settled in her bed before she realized that later had not come and she and her mother had not discussed her Danno.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------  
In the morning Grace was determined not to be deflected again. She heard her mom and Charlie getting ready for the school bus, as he still had another week of school. She waited until she heard the door close behind him and then hurried to get out of bed and settled herself in the breakfast nook. She was the first thing Rachel saw when she returned to the kitchen.

“Well, mom? I think I have a pretty good sense that Danno is not doing well, but I was hoping you could fill me in a little bit before I go to see him.”

So Rachel did.

Apparently Danny had promised Steve that he would stay at the beach house to recover because Junior would be there to help him. That apparently made it easier for Steve to leave to find his “peace.” But, Danny had to be Danny and as soon as Steve was out the door, he returned to his house over Junior and Tani’s protests. Well, frankly over the entire task force’s protests, as well as Rachel’s. But he would not be dissuaded. 

According to him, he was only staying at Steve’s because he was worried about him. There was never any mold. Once he knew Steve was gone … and who he had gone with … he refused to stay. His arguments were many – Steve might come back and he didn’t need Danny crowding him; Junior and Tani were in a new relationship and they didn’t need to be babysitting Danny; it was hard to recover at Steve’s house because Eddie was there and while Danny loved dogs it had been a long time since he had lived with one; it was easier to get to PT from his own house.

This last one might at least have been acceptable if Danny was actually going to PT on any kind of a regular basis. Despite all his injuries over the years, Danny usually bounced back fairly quickly. This injury was not proving to be the same. It had everyone who knew him worried.

Rachel finished her summary and looked at Grace and found strong clear eyes looking back at her. She decided she was not going to equivocate or soften any of this.

“Frankly, Grace, darling, your father is having a very hard time after this last injury. You must remember he has had so many things over the years, not the least of which was giving Steven a part of his liver. He is quite debilitated. He is out on sick leave. I don’t know when he might expect to be able to go back. He is not doing well at all. I want you to be prepared for when you see him. Your father and I have agreed that Charlie is not staying with him right now. That would just be too much for him with everything else. But, I can tell you Grace, I am worried about him. Perhaps you will be able to talk some sense into him.”  
\--------------------------------------------------  
A very sober Grace prepared to go visit her father that afternoon. She knew this was one of the days that Danny did not have PT scheduled. Grace had memorized his schedule even though she was far away. The things that had happened to her family over the years had caused Grace to be a very intense, thoughtful, considerate person at a very young age. She had fun, after all she still did cheer and other activities, but she was also wise beyond her years. She had pieced together conversations with her father, her mother, as well as what Will told her that his father had said and knew that her dad was not well. She knew that physically he was overcoming a lot of challenges but he was over 40 now and his body was not going to bounce back the way it had in his 30’s. She also knew that he was depressed and missing his best friend. Will had told her that he overheard his dad and mom talking and Captain Grover was incredulous that Steve McGarrett had “left his friend in THAT state to go off and be with THAT woman.” Grace couldn’t agree with him more. She had always liked Steve’s friend Catherine, but had often wondered why she would break her Uncle’s heart on more than one occasion when she claimed to love him. Right now, she was wondering the same thing about her Uncle Steve. How in the world could he have just left her dad to get better all by himself? Grace had only texted with Steve a couple of times since he had left, and he never asked about her dad.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------  
Grace checked her phone as she pulled into her dad’s driveway. She had texted “on my way over” at least an hour ago and was yet to have an answer. She figured her dad might be napping. Happy she had her own key, she let herself in and dropped her bag in the hall. She had told her mom that she planned to stay at Danny’s and come visit with her mom and Charlie. All her alarm bells went off when Rachel agreed to this plan rather than arguing that Grace should stay at Rachel’s. Her mom really was worried about Danno.

The usually spotless living room was a wreck. Take-out containers and old pop cans were scattered around. This wasn’t like her dad at all. The kitchen was worse. There was no sign of Danno. She headed for the bedrooms. 

Her dad’s door was closed and the room was dark. She could just make out his lumpy shape under the covers. As she got closer, she reached out a hand to put on his forehead, softly calling “Danno.” Did he feel hot? 

His blue eyes blinked open and he slowly smiled that crooked smile that always brought her such comfort. “Monkey. Was I expecting you? You’re not getting in till the 4th, right?” 

“Danno, the 4th was yesterday! Are you okay?

“Oh, sorry, babe. The painkillers they have me on make me a little goofy. Why don’t you go in the front room? Let me pull myself together and I will be right there.”

“Okay Danno!”

Grace fidgeted around the living room, picking things up, throwing things out, and straightening the room. Just as she thought she couldn’t take it another minute, her dad limped into the room. She was so happy to see him, she just flung herself into his arms.

He hugged her so tight. She was so happy. This was her Danno and she was home!

But, he was smelly. And sweaty. And hot.

She stepped back and really looked at him. And she did not like what she saw.

Her dad was skinny. He always had a slight but very muscular build. But now, he looked tiny. He also looked grey. Not his hair, his face. His blue eyes were not bright and there was a sheen of sweat over him. He was also very slightly shaking. Her alarm must have shown.

“I’m okay, Monkey.” Her dad muttered. “I’m okay. I look worse than I feel. Well, that might not be true, because I feel like a truck ran over me. But, don’t worry. I am getting better every day.”

“Danno. You should sit down. Are you hungry? What can I make you?”

“How about some soup Monkey? You can make that while I get a shower.”

Grace readily agreed and puttered around the kitchen while she heard the shower running. Danno’s phone started ringing and she grabbed it off the table. Seeing that it was Lou Grover, she answered.

“Hi Uncle Lou. Danno’s in the shower. Do you want me to have him call you back?”

“Grace! I am so glad you are there. How is your dad? He won’t let me come and see him, but he doesn’t sound good when I talk to him.”

“I don’t think he is doing great Uncle Lou. But, I don’t want him to catch me talking about him behind his back.”

“All right girl. You call me when you can. I’m worried about him.”

“Okay, Uncle Lou.”

She heard the shower turn off, and slow steps in the hall to the bedroom. A few seconds later, her dad limped into the room.

“Okay, Monkey…what have you got? Chicken soup? Sounds great.”

Danny gently lowered himself into the chair. Grace watched while he did. He looked ancient to her.

“Uncle Lou just called. He wants you to call him back.”

“Yeah, I will. I have just been kind of laying low with everybody. It takes too much energy to talk right now. So, you talk. Tell me about college.”

They spent the next hour or so sitting in the kitchen. Danny seemed delighted to hear any and everything that Grace could tell him about her life. But after a while, she noticed how he winced when he fidgeted and the lines around his mouth seemed to be getting tighter.

“Danno? Are you okay….?”

“Sorry Monkey. I think it’s time for a pain pill. I’ve been trying to stay off the damn … oops sorry Grace, the darn things, but I still hurt quite a bit.”

Grace saw the pill bottles next to the sink and brought them over with a glass of water. Her dad looked at them and then took one. He smiled at her and explained that he would be nodding off for a nap fairly quickly after the pill. She helped him to his bedroom and got him settled in bed and then went back to the living room for her cell phone and called her Uncle.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
He got off the couch when he heard his cell start up; he knew from the ringtone it was Grace Williams. He had no sooner answered with a quick, cheerful “Hey Gracie” when the strident voice from the other side stopped him in his tracks.

“Wait….what…..Gracie….what’s the matter…what are you talking about….what???” He couldn’t get a word in edgewise. She chewed his ear off for a good five minutes straight and then there was dead air. Catherine walked into the room and caught him looking at the phone with what she could only describe as a hurt and puzzled look on his face.

“What was that?” she asked

“That? That was a really angry, wound up and volatile Williams” Steve retorted.

“Oh! Is that all?” Catherine laughed. “I had expected that call to have happened weeks ago. What else did Danny have to say?”

“Not Danny. Gracie. That was Grace Williams.” Steve turned to Catherine. “I thought you told me that you had spoken to Danny a couple of times and he was fine?” Steve asked

“I did. I told you. He said he was fine and you shouldn’t worry about him. I told you, he sounded like he didn’t really want to hear from you.”

Steve narrowed his eyes at her and Catherine got a little worried. She hadn’t lied, exactly. She had called Danny, at least twice. He said he was fine. He said Steve should not bother to call him. That was true. But he didn’t sound good and she didn’t pursue that and she didn’t tell Steve that either. 

Nor did she tell him that Tani had called his phone while he was out running one day and related to Catherine that she was worried about Danny but no one wanted to worry Steve while he was getting his well deserved downtime. So, Catherine didn’t tell Steve about Tani’s call nor about her nagging worry about Danny. 

Catherine was enjoying being with Steve. She knew it wasn’t going to lead to anything more serious than what they always had, which was the ability to take each other out of their own heads and away from real life for a bit. It had been their way. While it was still nothing more than a temporary distraction for her, she had come to the realization recently that he was looking for something more permanent. She just hadn’t arrived at the point where she was ready to tell him she wasn’t it, but it looked like now her hand was going to be forced.

“Steve. I think we need to talk.” She began.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grace opened the door and let her Uncle Lou in. But she realized there were more people with him. 

“Grace, I think you remember Junior and Tani?”

“Yes, sir. I don’t know if Danno is going to be happy that I called you. I am worried that he is going to be mad that more people are here.”

“Don’t you worry little lady. If your dad is upset, I’ll handle him. Now, what’s the matter?”

“He took some more pain pills when he woke up from his nap…and all he had to eat was one bowl of soup this afternoon, and he didn’t even finish that. When I went to check on him, right before I called you…well Uncle Lou, he’s all sweaty, and he seems hot, and he’s answering me, but he isn’t making a lot of sense…” 

At this point, Grace kind of collapsed against the big giant of a man, and while he put his arm around her to comfort her, he nodded to Junior and pointedly nodded to the back bedroom. Junior knew when he’d been given an order and set off at a trot to the room with Tani hot on his heels. Within a minute she was out of the room, with her cell phone to her ear.

“Yes, operator that’s the right address. This is Tani Rey with the Five-O task force. Let me know when the bus is close.”

She snapped the phone shut and turned to Lou.

“I don’t like the look of him Lou. He isn’t connecting the dots very well. He knows Junior but he thinks I’m Rachel. I told you we should have checked on him days ago…”

Lou held up a big hand.

“I’ll be the first to say we made a mistake Rookie, but let’s deal with this situation first.”

Tani tightened her lips and jerked her head in a nod of acknowledgement. Then she turned back to the bedroom to help Junior.

Tani’s cell phone started ringing just as the reflecting red lights hit Danny’s front window.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Steve stood at Oahu International on the front sidewalk, looking at his cell phone in frustration. So far, Danny, Lou, Rachel, Junior, Tani, Adam, Grace, and Quinn’s cell phones had all gone to voicemail and no one had called back. He placed another call and finally got an answer.

Twenty minutes later he was climbing into Kamekona’s van.

“Thanks for getting me big man. I couldn’t reach anybody. It’s like an island holiday I don’t know about.”

“It’s no holiday bruddah. Your little friend is really sick.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Danny, man. Isn’t that why you’re back? Didn’t somebody call you about Danny?”

Steve felt like he was drowning. 

He had been confused and concerned when he got Grace’s call. Then he sat down for his serious talk with Catherine. What she said wasn’t really a shock to him. His many runs had brought him to the same conclusion. While he might have pined for years to be in a relationship with her, a relationship with her was never going to happen. They were better as friends. She was still devoted to making a name for herself with the agency. She had no desire for children. Steve loved her, but he wasn’t IN love with her. It wasn’t until he was able to spend so much time with her without any distractions, that he was able to realize what so many people had seen so many times before – they just were not good together. They were not good for each other.

He also realized something else while he spent so many hours by himself trying to get back to Hawaii. He had failed as a friend. Danny was his best friend. He had been scared to death when he had come so close to losing him, again. He just couldn’t do it again. Could not watch Danny hurt and in pain, knowing that this had happened because of Steve and Steve’s family. Could not go through seeing Danny in pain day after day while he recovered from his latest injury. 

Steve always thought of himself as a brave man, so it had shaken him to his core when he got the call from his best friend’s little girl, a little girl that he was “Uncle Steve” to, and she had called him a coward, and he knew she was right. 

He had booked his flights as soon as his talk with Catherine was over.

“No, Kamekona. No one called me about Danny? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh bruddah, the little bruddah really sick. Good thing his little keikei came home from college. The doctor said if he was left on his own for a few more days he mighta died. He gots seps …somefin. Not sure what they call it, but he in the hospital and he really, really not good.””

Steve’s jaw tightened as he realized how much his cowardice might have cost him. He knew he had been selfish, and now he was scared of what he might find when they got to the hospital.

\----------------------------------------------------------  
Danny had just moved into a step down room from ICU. Rachel and Charlie had gratefully headed for home, hopeful that he had turned an important corner. Grace and the whole team were in the waiting room trying to divvy up times so that Danny wouldn’t have too many people with him all at one time. The team was very conscious that they needed to let the young girl get some rest.

The elevator door opened and the team was thrilled to see their leader. They all gathered around him, hugging him and patting him on the back, delighted with his presence. Steve was happy to see all of them, to get their assurances that Danny was doing much better. As he was hugging Junior, he looked over his shoulder and saw a pair of angry brown eyes fixing him with a piercing glare.

“Ah, give me a minute guys.” He said as he prepared to meet his maker.

“Oh, she’s going to rip him apart” muttered Lou under his breath as he waved everyone deeper into the waiting area.

“Gracie”

“Steve” He winced at that. The “Uncle” had been dropped. That hurt.

“Look, Gracie…I know that you were scared about Danny being sick…” he didn’t get very far.

“Yes. I was really scared about Danno being sick and left alone” she all but spat at him. “No one checked on him. You left him. You left him alone. He would never do that to you.” Now there were tears running down her face. The worst thing was, she was right.

Steve sighed and took her hand. “I need to see your dad.”

Those brown eyes bore into his. She nodded once, took his hand and led him into Danny’s room.

Steve was aghast. Danny looked terrible and Steve had seen him in all sorts of terrible conditions. He looked just this side of death’s door.

Steve picked up Danny’s hand, and reached across him to take Grace’s hand where she stood on the other side of her dad.

“Gracie, you were right. I was a coward. I left because I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t watch your dad go through this again because of me. I thought I would find some peace far away from here, and the fact is being here and being with my friend is all I thought about. When you called and yelled at me, I wanted to defend myself and tell you that you were wrong, but I couldn’t because you were right. I know you’re mad at me right now, but I will stay and help your dad through this and help him get strong, and I will be worthy of being your Uncle Steve again, I promise. Okay?”

Those deep, dark, brown eyes looked at him.

“We’ll see” was all she said.

THE END ???


	2. After the Finale - Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets to see Danny.

Steve settled in the waiting room. Danny’s nurse made it abundantly clear that she would only let one person stay with him in the room and that person, for the moment, was Grace.

Steve was worried. His partner looked worse than Steve had ever seen him. His normally compact and muscular form was diminished. He looked frail and, even though he was unconscious, he looked depressed. Or maybe it was just that Steve was depressed. He hadn’t found the peace he had been seeking. Not off-island, not with Catherine; not even with himself. Peace eluded him wherever he turned. Having Danny so very sick and Grace so very angry with him seemed to guarantee that peace was not arriving any time soon.

Steve felt rather than saw Lou Grover settle in the chair next to him. The big man remained silent, but his presence lent Steve comfort nonetheless. 

“I guess I shouldn’t have left so quickly.”

“Nah, you probably shouldn’t have. But you did. So now we just move on from here. Did you find what you were looking for?”

Steve got the feeling Grover knew the answer.

“No. I didn’t. Catherine met me on the plane, but the more time we spent together, the more I realized how much we have grown apart over the years. We have history. I will always be there for her and she will always be there for me, but we are not meant to be together. It’s funny. I told Lincoln that she was the one that got away. I think the truth is she is the one that RAN away.”

“I’m sorry, Steve. I know that sucks. Believe me, when you find the right one, you aren’t going to be willing to let them get away. Maybe it’s for the best that you had this time together, so that you know that it is just not meant to be. Sometimes, being alone is better than being with the wrong one.”

“When did you get so smart Lou?’ Steve hung his head with a slight grin. Then he got serious in a hurry. “What happened with Danny? He looks like hell. Is this all sepsis?”

Lou’s face grew solemn. “Nah, he ain’t been doing so good. When you left, he was in pretty crappy shape. You saw how he could barely move. Then, instead of staying at your place with Junior, he packs up and heads to his own. Bad idea. He could barely move and then he was trying to take care of everything himself. We all knew it wasn’t working, but nobody could get through to him. Brother, that boy is stubborn, with a capital ‘S’.”

Steve chuckled but there was no humor in it. “Yeah, he never would listen to reason. Always had to do everything the hard headed way.”

Lou turned an incredulous look on Steve. “Pot….kettle much.”

Steve was just about to retort when he felt a presence by his elbow.

“Uncle Steve….” The most plaintive little voice he had heard in a while.

Grace was standing next to him with tears running down her face. When he went to reach for her hand, she stepped back. Steve felt terrible, but realized that while he was “uncle” once again, she may not be quite ready to forgive and forget.

“How’s Danno, Grace?”

“He’s still pretty out of it. The nurse says that they have him on a lot of medicine and he will be slow and groggy to wake up. I just thought you might want to sit with him for a while? The doctors want to talk to us at 4:00.”

“Yeah, Gracie, I’ll go sit with him. Maybe you can go and get something to eat in the cafeteria with Uncle Lou?”

“That’s a good idea little miss. You come with me and maybe you can tell me how my kid is doing…I never get all the truth out of him.”

Grace smiled at Lou and let him lead her down the hall to the elevator.

Steve stood looking after them until they got on. His shoulders slumped when he didn’t get a wave when the doors closed.

****************************************************************************************************

Steve settled into the chair at the side of Danny’s bed. He looked at his best friend, his partner, his brother…and his heart shattered.

Danny’s eyes were closed. So much of his life radiated out of his bright blue eyes. His mouth was slack, his hair was a mess, and his face was grey and drawn. The good news was that he only had a nasal canula for oxygen. He was fidgeting in the bed and muttering under his breath, but nothing was really clear. 

Steve picked up his hand and shifted the chair even closer to the bed.

“Okay, you stubborn pain in the ass. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left. I shouldn’t have gone and after I did, I should have kept in better touch. So, if this is you making me feel bad for leaving, it worked. You win, all right? I’ll stick around. You just have to get better. I’ll even take you to Jersey when you pull out of this. Swear to God, Danny. Nothing works if you aren’t okay.”

In the movies, at this point, the hero’s eyes would pop open and the musical interlude would begin. Danny was too stubborn for that.

The nurse came hustling in to check his lines and Steve moved to get out of her way. 

“You’re fine Commander. I can work around you. It won’t be the first time.”

Steve realized that he knew this nurse. She was a larger, older, Hawaiian lady and she had been one of the ones that was pretty consistently on duty when Danny was recovering from the gunshot wound he received when they were in isolation. 

“Nurse Nancy, right?”

“That’s right Commander. I’m sorry to see Detective Danny back here. But, don’t you worry, we’ll get him back on his feet.”

“Will you really? Everyone’s pretty worried about the rough shape he’s in.”

“Rough shape for sure! But, that’s okay. This one is tough. I remember when he was here last time. I thought he wouldn’t ever get back to work after that, but he did. He even came back to see me sometimes.”

“Did he?” Steve was quite surprised. He didn’t know that and he thought he knew everything about Danny.

“Oh sure.” Nancy continued, “Detective Danny was wonderful about visiting. He would even stop down at the children’s ward and visit. Those kids loved to see his badge and he would always be so friendly and kind to them.”

She studied Steve for a moment and then looked at the door. Realizing they were still alone, she went on.

“His little girl remembered me too. Now don’t you worry, son, all of this will work out. She just loves her daddy so and she is worried about him. I know that she isn’t as mad at you as she would like you to think.”

While the words might have been meant to comfort him they did anything except that. Steve felt badly that Gracie was so upset with him that she was sharing that information with someone else.

Nancy patted him on the shoulder and went on her rounds and Steve shifted back to be close to Danny.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What else is going on with Danny? Steve and Grace meet with his doctor.

Steve and Grace were in a conference room and Dr. Lucas had just arrived. Steve was relieved that they had put Dr. Lucas on the case since he and Danny already had such a great rapport after his last recovery.

“Grace, Steve. Now that Grace is 18, she is legally considered Danny’s next of kin, but Steve, you are still his medical power of attorney. I know that the two of you are close and will be able to make good decisions for Danny going forward. Now, the wounds Danny recently sustained are very serious. The gunshot wound is bad enough, as you know it missed his heart by inches. But, in the beatings he took he also had some damage and bruising to his internal organs, primarily his kidneys. Frankly, when he was discharged for your going away party, Steve, I had advised against it. I told him he belonged in a rehab facility.”

The color drained from Steve’s face. “He never told me that.”

Dr. Lucas sighed. “I knew I should have spoken to you at the time. It seemed insane to discharge him a week after such life threatening injuries, but he assured me that he was staying at your house. Frankly, I only discharged him because I thought you would be at home helping him. I know you have advanced medical training as a former SEAL and I wasn’t worried. Then, I found out afterward that you had left the island, but I still wasn’t exactly worried, because Danny told me that, well, what he referred to as ‘McGarrett junior’ was staying at your house. I cannot begin to express how upset I was when I found out that he ended up going to his own home, alone.”

Steve and Grace exchanged glances. 

“Gracie, I had no idea. Your dad didn’t tell me that he finagled his way out of here early. I knew he seemed really rough, but I didn’t know that.” Steve's voice was pleading. He was already in enough trouble with his niece.

Grace looked at him quite long and consideringly. Then she nodded once.

“He wouldn’t have wanted you to worry. He also wouldn’t want to miss your going away celebration. That’s how Danno is.”

Steve felt a little mollified that at least Grace didn’t seem to be blaming him ….at least not for that.

“All right.” Dr. Lucas continued briskly. “Here’s the drill. Danny is compromised. He has just put his systems and his body through too much. But it is not irreversible. We need to get the sepsis under control. Then, we need to get him into a rehab where he can recover his strength and ability while under professional care … we need to be sure that he is taking care of himself; taking his medicines; and getting regular nourishment. He was neglecting all of that while he was on his own. The last thing is, this time he is going to take my advice and start getting regular treatment for his PTSD.”

“What??” Steve felt like the ground had opened up under him. “PTSD? Danny’s not a veteran.”

“Steve, not only servicepeople get PTSD. I counseled Danny the last time that he should really see someone and get it under control. He has been shot, beaten, something apparently happened out of the country that he will not discuss, his daughter was kidnapped, and working on the Task Force isn’t easy to cope with on a good day. He doesn’t sleep and he doesn’t talk. Well, let me correct that. Danny talks. Danny is always talking. I think it's a deflection tool so no one looks at him too closely. But you'll notice he doesn’t talk about himself, he is usually talking about his family and his friends. He doesn’t sleep. He doesn’t look out for himself, so it is up to us to look out for him.”

Dr. Lucas settled back in his chair. 

“Grace, I know this is a lot to lay on you at such a young age. But, you understand, people in law enforcement, just like people in the service, can get PTSD. Most can find effective coping methods. What we want, is to help your dad to find a coping method that works for him.”

“Thanks Dr. Lucas. I’m pre-Med at UCLA. We have done some coursework that involves PTSD, and I thought a lot of it sounded like some of the things I have seen with Dad and Uncle Steve. I have been talking a lot with one of my professors about it and how to help. In fact, I knew that Uncle Steve had Eddie, pets are often great coping methods for PTSD. But my dad was alone and hurt and didn’t have a dog. That’s why I was so eager to get home after term ended and my dad was shot.” She darted a quick glance at Steve and then ducked her head.

Steve was a bit shocked. When had she grown up so much? She knew he had PTSD and suspected her dad too. She was thinking that he already had help and was trying to figure out how to help her dad? She should be going to parties and enjoying school, not researching how to help them.

Steve felt he had a lot of thinking to do. He always considered himself to be a good friend, which certainly was evident by the heartfelt good-byes he received from his crew, but how could he be so oblivious to Danny’s struggles, struggles a relative stranger like Dr. Lucas had noticed? What kind of a friend was he?


	4. After the Finale - Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where will Danny go next?

Chapter Four

Steve, Grace and the task force alternated staying with Danny, but it mostly fell to Steve and Grace. Steve had turned the reins of Five-0 over when he left. The Governor had insisted on making it an extended leave rather than accepting his resignation. She wanted to give him time to decide for sure that he didn’t want to lead the team. Danny had been in line to be the new task force leader, but Grover was interim leader while Danny was out on sick leave. Lincoln had joined the team, so at least they were at close to full strength.

Rachel was a very infrequent visitor. While she and Danny had tried to resurrect their relationship, they had realized that they were not meant to be together. She found it hard to be there and watching Danny fight for every improvement. Steve reassured her that Danny would want her to be concentrating on Charlie right now.

So, that pretty much left Steve and Grace spending a lot of time together at the hospital. She was consistent in alternating between giving him a very cold shoulder and talking to him about her dad’s condition, often with tears in her eyes or running down her face. Steve found that being on the emotional roller coaster with her was exceptionally difficult and it made him admire Danny’s incredible parenting skills all over again. How in the world did a parent get through the day when they never knew what mood their child was going to be in, and how to help said child navigate through it, without feeling that one’s brains were getting bashed in over and over??

Then there was the fact that his feelings were hurt. He loved Grace almost as though she were his own and had seen her through many hurdles over the years. So, to feel like she hated him just broke his heart; but, he knew he had to deal with it or he would never make it up to her that he had, as she put it ‘abandoned Danno.’

It had been a week since Danny was admitted and he would progress two steps and slide back one. He was still under fairly heavy sedation. He seemed better at shaking it off and making an effort when Grace was with him. When it was Steve, he seemed to sleep most of the time. The progress report from his doctors were good. He seemed to be healing and they were getting him out of bed daily. He had been receiving a little PT in his room, but they were ready to start a more intensive regimen and they were starting to recommend some rehab facilities. Steve and Grace had already visited a few of them. When they left Grace was usually in tears and Steve was morose. While the places weren’t terrible, they just weren’t places that they could see leaving Danny.

They had just left the latest reject and Grace was slumped in her seat. 

“Why does he have to go to a rehab, Uncle Steve? The doctor let him come home last time. Couldn’t he come home? I could transfer to UH and then I could take care of him.”

“Gracie, that is the last thing your dad would want. You know how excited he was when you got accepted at UCLA. That’s the school you wanted, and you have the scholarships to prove how much they want you. But, you’re right. The doctor did let him come home last time. Let’s talk to Lucas and see if he would consider letting him out and come live at the beach house. Then he could do out-patient PT.”

“Yeah, but then you would actually have to stick around and help him. That might be hard, right?”

Steve felt like she would have done less damage if she had stabbed him in the heart.

“Grace. You know how much your dad means to me. I would never, never have left if I knew how bad off he was. Don’t you know that?”

“I dunno Uncle Steve. You say that you care, but sometimes you can be … a little mean and insensitive to my dad’s feelings. I mean, I know he gives as good as he gets, but sometimes….” Her sentence drifted off and Steve thought maybe she just didn’t understand.

“Like when, Grace? When am I mean to your dad?”

“Well, remember when you needed the liver? Everyone was making a big fuss over you and it was just me and Charlie and Danno on our side of the room. No one even brought him a card or a balloon or anything. I know that’s not your fault. But sometimes you and Danno are just really tough on each other.”

“Ahhh, Gracie, we’re just two old dogs that are used to the way each other bites. We don’t mean anything by it. I love your dad very much, you know. Maybe I need to work on showing it a little better.”

“Maybe.” The response was a little doubtful, but Steve was hoping they were turning a corner.

****************************************************************************************  
Steve managed to get Dr. Lucas alone the next day and presented the idea that rather than a rehab Danny could be released into his care.

“I don’t know Steve, that didn’t work out so well last time.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?! I didn’t know that you only released Danny because you thought I would be there. If I knew that I would never have left. I promise, I will get him to out-patient PT and I will make sure that he works through the at home PT regimen they establish for him. I will make sure that he eats right, takes his meds, and follows his protocols. We will even attend whatever PTSD counseling you want.”

Steve was pleading hard. Not just for his best friend’s recovery but also because he knew that he had to make things right with Grace Williams. He felt like he had let her down severely and he could not stand that feeling.

Dr. Lucas stifled a smile. If he could get McGarrett AND Detective Williams into PTSD counseling together, he figured the Governor would give him a medal.

“Fine, Steve, but I swear, one backslide and Danny is going to have to go to rehab.”  
***********************************************************************************************  
Danny had just returned from his first hospital PT session and was still sitting in the wheelchair. Dr, Lucas and his therapist had been carefully going over his discharge plans. Danny had not reacted well when he heard that he was being released into Steve’s care.

“No. Absolutely not. I am not going to be a burden on Steve. There’s no reason I can’t recover at home. I am just fine on my own.”

Dr. Lucas and the therapist exchanged glances. Dr. Lucas turned to Danny. 

“Danny, there are lots of reasons that I will not release you to recover at home. Firstly, you are much worse off then you were on your previous release. You have a lot more damage and you are going to need to work extremely hard to get back to yourself. Steve has promised that he will be there to help you. This isn’t my first rodeo with you guys, and I think we are both aware that each of you recovers better when the other one is involved in said recovery.”

Danny sat there and the good doctor could tell that he was becoming more obstinate by the word. So, he decided to deploy his best ammunition.

“Danny, I don’t want to play the hard cards, but I will. The only way you get your benefits while you are on sick leave is if I sign off that you are following the protocol that I have established. This is that protocol. You either go to Steve’s or you go to rehab. Then you get paid. I can’t prevent you from recovering at home, but you will be doing it on your own dime.”

At that, Danny’s resistance faded. He was still plenty angry at how he had been out-maneuvered, but he didn’t have the reserves, either financial, physical or emotional to fight back. But someone was going to pay and he knew just who that someone was going to be. The nurse arrived to wheel him back to his room and he was plenty happy to get away from Dr. Doom.

*****************************************************************************************************************  
Nurse Nancy had told him that she wanted him sitting up in the chair for at least another hour. 

“You’re getting lazy and complacent Detective Danny. You must push hard to be better.”

Then she left the room and let Steve in.

Steve settled in the armchair across from Danny, who was uncharacteristically silent.

Just as Steve was starting to shift to say something, Danny cracked his eye open and blearily looked at his partner.

“So, I’m Piccolo in this scenario, am I?”

“What’re you talking about Danny?”

“You know ‘Brian’s Song?”

“What’s “Brian’s Song? What band plays that?’”

“You really are a cave dwelling Neanderthal, aren’t you? How in the world can you not know ‘Brian’s Song?’, one of the great buddy movies of all time? Maybe because you just aren’t used to the buddy theme? Maybe that’s it, right? You just up and leave your buddies and head out of town.”

Danny would have gone on, but his rant seemed to have exhausted him, and he was suddenly quite out of breath and started wheezing.

Steve pressed the call button immediately and Nancy came hurrying back in.

“Oh, oh, oh….tsk tsk, look at your blood pressure, and your wheezing again, my goodness, well back on the oxygen you go. Let’s get the canula set up and then I’ll get you settled back in bed.”

She talked non-stop and bustled around, getting Danny moved out of the chair and settled back in bed. She whispered softly to him for a few minutes and when she felt he was settled enough, she waved Steve back over.

“Now, Commander, you need to be a little more careful with Detective Danny, he’s fragile right now.”

She watched Steve with a stern eye while he moved the chair back next to the bed and after he was settled and she checked Danny again, she left the room.

There was complete silence and then the little high-pitched giggle that proved Danny was still Danny.

“Fragile, did you hear that, Steven? I am fragile.”

Steve rolled his eyes, moved his chair closer to the bed and said “Okay, I dunno what's going on but apparently you're a fragile piccolo. You know I was out of the country a lot. What the hell is ‘Brian’s Song?””

So, Danny told him and Steve promised that would be the first movie they rented when Danny was released.


	5. After the finale - chapter five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rehab or Steve's? Steve's or Rehab? That is the question.

Danny and Steve had reached a certain détente with regard to his being released into Steve’s care. Steve was happily getting the house ready and making sure that the main floor bedroom and bathroom were adequately set up for his partner. He had bought a shower chair, installed grab bars, and even bought one of those sticks that helped someone pick stuff up without bending over. He also started planning the health smoothies and meals that would, as he told Danny gleefully, “up his protein and reduce his fat.” It was only a few days before his release and Danny finally snapped.

“There is no way. I am not going to recover at that giant freak’s house.” Danny’s furious howl was heard down the hall at the nurse’s station, which was at the other end of the floor from Dr. Lucas’ office. “He’ll have me up doing calisthenics in my briefs on the front lawn at 4:00 am. No, absolutely not, I am going home. I will be fine in my very own home; I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!” 

Danny’s declaration of independence was quickly shattered by him having to halt his rant because his lung strength hadn’t recovered to full capacity and he was in tremendous pain from flailing his hands around. Danny simply could not rant without using his hands.

Dr. Lucas moved quickly to grab the portable oxygen tank and get a nasal canula on Danny. He had his hand on Danny’s back rubbing gently and encouraging him to ‘just breathe Danny.’

Grace was wide-eyed and scared, and reached over and grabbed Steve’s hand looking for comfort. Steve wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. He didn’t need his partner putting himself through this kind of turmoil just to have him recovering at his house.

When Danny settled down, Steve thought he had best address the situation.

“Look, Doc. I don’t want Danny getting agitated. If he thinks he would recover better at his own house, maybe that’s the way we should go. I just want him to have the best chance to recover well.”

Grace realized that she was still holding Steve’s hand and dropped it and settled herself stiffly back in her own chair.

“That’s all I’m saying, Doc.” Danny wheezed out. After a few more breaths, he continued, “I appreciate Steve offering his help, but really, I just wanna go home.”

“There is no question about that.” Dr. Lucas was firm. “You don’t have to go to Steve’s Danny, no one would force you to do that, but I am absolutely not releasing you to go home. So, it is either Steve’s or one of the rehab facilities. It is 100% up to you which one you choose, but you will choose one of them. Frankly, with how hard you are objecting to going to Steve’s, I am now wondering if that should even be an option. Maybe it would be best to just release you to an in-patient rehab.”

Danny’s heart fell to his feet. While he really didn’t want Steve mother-henning him or being in charge of his PT, at least he would be comfortable at Steve’s house. He really didn’t want to have to go to a rehab and now his rant might have cost him the chance to be able to get out of that option.

Steve leaned forward in his chair, clasped his hands together in front of him, and earnestly made eye contact with Danny.

“Look, Danny, I promise, I’ll rein in the mother-henning. I just want you to come back 110%. It hurts me to see you struggling so much, and I want to do everything I can to make your stay successful and to be a help instead of a problem.”

Danny chewed his lip while he was listening to Steve. He knew how much his friend was worried, but he was not usually too gracious when he was in pain, and Danny was in a lot of pain.

Then Grace spoke up and Danny knew he was finished and would capitulate to any plan they put in place.

“Please, Danno?” Her lower lip was quivering and her eyes will full of tears. “Please stay at Uncle Steve’s. I won’t be able to go back to LA if you don’t. I would be so worried if you were staying at the house all by yourself. You always do better if you stay by Uncle Steve when you’re hurt.”

Danny heaved a great sigh. “Fine, Doc. I’ll go to Steve’s. If it’s that or rehab, I’ll go to Steve’s. At least there’s a fair chance he’ll get me some malasadas now and then.”

“Only if you do all your PT, Danny.” Steve smirked.

Danny shot him a death glare but didn’t retort. He couldn’t; he was too breathless.  
******************************************************************************  
Dr. Lucas reluctantly agreed to release Danny into Steve’s care, but he made it abundantly clear to both men that if Danny did not do things exactly according to the protocol Lucas laid out, that the good doctor would not be giving Danny a release to return to work. While that was still some time away, the threat was good since Danny needed both the income and the insurance.

Steve and Grace were both there to pick Danny up and Grace had put the kibosh on any large gathering to welcome Danny home. She was always super sensitive to her dad’s moods and she knew that would have been overwhelming to him right now. Steve had gotten the bonus room on the main floor tricked out with a bed and a lot of Danny’s clothes and there was a main bath on the main floor so Danny wouldn’t have to deal with the stairs.

He was still on the cane and still moved like a guy who had gone one too many rounds with Mike Tyson. If he pushed too hard his breathing became compromised fast. But, if he thought Steve was coddling him, his back would be up in an instant. Steve felt like he was constantly walking on eggshells between doing too much and letting Danny wear himself out.

Eddie was thrilled to have Steve home; obviously delighted to have Danny staying there; and loved Grace in the way only a devoted dog can. Junior was noticeably missing a lot, as he spent most of his time at Tani’s now. 

Steve and Danny settled into a routine, Steve would make them breakfast (Danny’s eggs were still the worst), he would go for a run or a swim while Danny got ready, then Steve would shower and get dressed. If it was PT day, off they would go. On days they weren’t going to therapy, Steve would run Danny through whatever exercises he had planned. He tried to change it up so Danny would stay challenged, but he kept it intense. Danny far preferred the days they ended up at PT. Steve was relentless and many a harsh word was exchanged during their sessions. Steve was always grateful that Grace wasn’t present for the PT sessions. He would never redeem himself in her eyes if she heard her dad howling and swearing at him.

Several times during the week Grace and Charlie would join them for dinner. Steve would usually grill something, and it was usually fish or chicken and vegetables. He was not trying to overtly push a better eating plan for Danny, but the sight of a pizza was few and far between. Despite the change in his diet, Danny was always thrilled when the kids were around and he was extremely appreciative of the efforts Steve was making for himself and his family.

They finally got around to renting ‘Brian’s Song” from the on demand channel one night. Danny had seen it a million times and loved the wonderful story. Steve sat transfixed and at the end kept wiping at his face.

“So, what’d ya think, Steve?”

There was utter silence on the other end of the couch.

Danny looked over to see Steve eyeing him with suspiciously moist eyes.

“You are not Piccolo in this scenario, Danny. Piccolo died. That’s not happening to you. I refuse to allow it.”

At that Steve rose and stalked out of the room leaving an astonished Danny staring after him.


	6. After the finale - chapter six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does Danny do about Steve's Piccolo revelation?

Danny sat in the dark for a long time after Steve left and let himself think back over the last few months. He dropped his head in his hands and cursed himself. He wasn’t absolving Steve of blame in any of this, but he knew Steve, he knew how Steve was wired, how hard it was to get him to trust and let go of his SEAL persona. He knew that Steve had been terrified when Wo Fat’s widow had taken Danny, tortured him, and he ended up shot in the chest yet again. So, he understood when Steve had left, and he even tried to be understanding and encourage him to find his peace, but he broke Danny’s heart.

When he had made the Piccolo reference back in the hospital, he had only been thinking of himself and the PT that was heading his way, and he knew how his fitness freak of a partner would put him through his paces and maybe sometimes push him beyond what Danny felt himself to be capable of. He hadn’t stopped to think that in watching the movie, he might be reminding Steve of the one thing that he was well aware Steve was terrified of – losing Danny.

So, maybe he was being unnecessarily harsh on Steve. He knew that Steve was emotionally stunted in a lot of ways. But, then again, so was Danny. For instance, Danny was self-aware enough to know that he had anger management issues, relationship issues and abandonment issues. When Dr. Lucas had originally brought up PTSD, it had blind-sided Danny. He just wanted to be run of the mill mentally unstable, the PTSD thing he considered the province of veterans, like Steve. Sometimes he didn’t think that he deserved to be considered in the same light as a hero like Steve, but then his bravado clicked back in. He knew he did plenty of heroic things; but he was well aware that he did a lot of stupid stuff too.

He groaned softly to himself. He was an idiot. Steve was an idiot. But they were two idiots who meant everything to each other. They were family. They belonged in each other’s pockets until they really were those two grumpy old-men Danny had hallucinated them to be, sitting on the beach and sniping at each other until the end of their days. Danny knew that it was up to him to do whatever he could to put their family back together. And he knew where he was going to start to put the wheels back on the bus.

************************************************************************************  
While neither Steve nor Grace discussed their falling out with Danny, great detective that he was, it hadn’t taken long before he noticed. Now, with his post-Piccolo revelations, he was a man on a mission to heal any of the wounds in his family and he wasn’t going to waste any time.

Steve knew that Danny had noticed the cold shoulder that Grace had been delivering, he was just surprised that Danny had waited as long as he did before bringing up the subject, which was shortly after Grace headed back to Rachel’s after spending a long day with her dad at Steve’s.

“So, what did you do?”

Steve was immediately defensive.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything! Why? What did she say?”

“Well, Steven, if you didn’t do anything, A) why are you asking what she said, and B) why did my perfect daughter, who usually hero worships you by the way, only say like three words to you today?”

Steve started fumbling with his words and shuffling his feet and looking as guilty as a person could possibly look.

Danny waited him out.

“Fine! She is mad at me and it’s all your fault!”

“My fault? My fault? What did I do, I’ve been lying in sedation for the last month and a half.”

“In sedation, who says that? It’s under sedation. You weren’t in sedation. Plus it wasn’t even that long.”

Danny waited a minute after Steve stopped talking, but the man refused to elaborate.

“All right, I swear you have the emotional maturity of a five year old. No, actually that is insulting to five year olds everywhere. You obviously know what’s going on, and Grace isn’t being exactly forthcoming in that she refuses to answer my subtle prodding.”  


“You? Subtle? You don’t have a subtle bone in your body.”

“Yeah, yeah flyboy. Keep it up. Keep deflecting. That’s a healthy reaction and a good way to work out your problems. Ya know, I do know Grace pretty well. I might be able to help you mend whatever you’ve done to put you on her bad side, which by the way, that’s where I basically lived through her middle teens.”

Danny looked at Steve’s mulish face. Much loved, but mulish non the less.

“Fine. How about if I start?. My beloved princess, who is perfect amongst all others, is punishing you because you went out of town when I was hurt and then I ended up in the hospital. How’m I doing?”

Steve’s astonishment was written all over his face, but he didn’t answer.

“Aw come on babe; did you think this was a surprise to me? Grace is a lot of things, all of the good ones she gets from me, the questionable, I would never say she has any bad faults, but the questionable things she gets from her mother. One of those questionable traits is being extremely unforgiving and hardheaded.”

“Humph. You think she gets the hardheaded from Rachel?”

“Because I am a generous and forgiving soul, I am going to ignore that remark and help you. You are going to have to talk to her Steve. And you are going to have to apologize. Now, I am not saying that you did anything wrong. You are a grown man and have a right to live your life the way you want. But if you want to get your relationship with Grace back on a solid footing, you need to apologize.”

“I’m sorry, Danny.”

Danny dropped his head into his hands and groaned.

“Not to me, you chump, to Grace!”

“No, Danny. I do need to apologize to you. I’m sorry. I got you shot and I know rule number one is to apologize when you get someone shot. And then, I left. You were barely healed and I left you when you really needed me, and I’m sorry. I just couldn’t stay. I couldn’t do it again. I’m so afraid of losing you and it scared me. And the fact that it scared me, scared me even more.”

“You gigantic ignoramous. You didn’t get me shot. That witch Daiyu Mei got me shot. You aren’t to blame for every bad thing that happens in the world. People are responsible for their own shit. I know you feel bad. I know you’re struggling with what happened. Don’cha think I hear you on your five mile march in your bedroom, night after night. At least when you were out of the house I was able to get a good night’s sleep.”

“Yeah, but not here. You ran for your own house as fast as you could.”

“Guilty as charged. You’re not the only one who worries about the other guy and can’t stand to stick around when things aren’t going perfect.”

“Perfect?” Steve said incredulously. “I’d be happy if we could just go for a little while without getting beaten up.”

“Amen to that partner.” 

***********************************************************************************

Stop! I mean it! Oh Mother of God! You have to stop now!” Danny was red-faced and howling. Steve looked pleadingly over at the head of PT, Brock, who shook his head.

“He needs to finish the 25.” Brock insisted.

Brock was a tall, thin guy, ‘a tall drink of water’ Steve’s Aunt Deb would have called him, and Danny’s new physical therapist. He was no nonsense and from what Steve could tell, he set a PT regimen that was just a little more than what the patient would be capable of and then he would not let them fall short of the mark if he could possibly push, cajole, threaten them to complete. Steve loved him and Danny thought he was the devil incarnate. In fact, Danny was starting to think a lot more charitably about having Steve in charge of his PT.

Danny completed the 25, his chest heaving, face bright red, covered in sweat and trembling. His shoulder and chest were screaming at him. After several minutes, he finally caught his breath.

“Gawd Brock, I was sure having Steve in charge of my PT was going to destroy me and now I can’t wait until I am discharged so it’s not you.”

Brock grinned, and if you asked Danny he would have termed it ‘sadistically.’ “Danny, let me tell you about my Great Aunt Ida.”

At this Danny rolled his eyes and would have gone into a rant, but fortunately for Brock, he was still too winded.

“My Great Aunt Ida had two knee surgeries six months apart. With her first, the left one, she said the therapist that they sent to the house was like a Nazi. She pushed her past endurance every time. Ida dreaded her visits and was in great pain after the PT. The right one, six months later, apparently Ida loved her. She was gentle in her approach and let Ida ease off on some of the exercises when Ida complained about them. Guess which knee is doing better two years later?”

Danny had flopped back on the mat, with an arm flung over his eyes.

“I pray to God that it’s the right one. Please, please let it be the right one.”

Brock laughed.

“You know damn well it was the left one. I know it hurts, Danny, but you have to push through this. It will be worth it on the other side and you will thank me later. That’s it for today.”

With a nod at Steve, Brock walked away to greet his next victim.

Steve strode over to Danny and reached his hand down.

“Don’t you say one word, Steven, or I swear to heaven I will punch you right in the face.”

“Fine. Come along, Ida, I’ll take you to the shrimp truck and you can drown your sorrows in some garlic shrimp.”

***********************************************************************************  
During the course of his recovery, Danny had also done a ton of reading about PTSD. When Steve came down from his shower one morning, Danny greeted him from the couch with a handful of pamphlets spread out on the coffee table in front of him.  


“Hey, Babe. I thought we could take a look at these. Now, I don’t want to do this, Steve, but Dr. Lucas was fairly clear on the consequences if I didn’t. I thought it might be easier if you did it with me, huh?”

Steve could tell that Danny was very uncertain about asking him. It was the last thing on earth Steve wanted to do for himself, but he really thought Danny needed it more than he did.

“Well, what the hell, Danny, if we could get through marriage counseling together, I’m pretty sure we can do this, right? Which one do you like?”

Steve shuffled over to the couch and sat down next to his partner. As he flung his arm along the back of the couch behind Danny, Steve knew he’d made the right choice when he noticed Danny’s guarded stance relax and his shoulders come down from where they had parked themselves around his ears. 

“Well, this CBT stuff seems like it might be helpful. We can combine that with this talk therapy group, which seems to be showing a lot of success; I mean we already rocked the counseling thing so we’re kinda experts now, right?”

Since he had already made the pledge to go, Steve sort of tuned Danny out and let the volume of his words wash over him. As always, it was very comforting to him. As for Danny, for the first time since Steve left him by himself on the beach, he really thought that their relationship was going to be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone for all the great comments. It really helps a lot.


	7. After the finale - chapter seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will things resolve between Danny and Steve? Steve and Grace? Read on to find out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .

After the finale – chapter seven

Several days later Lou had picked up Danny to drive him to PT. Everyone around them thought Danny and Steve needed a little break from each other. Danny’s recovery was the hardest of any he had gone through and Steve was trying to help him too much. They needed a little distance, even if it was just the few hours while Danny was at PT.

Steve was at loose ends being in his house. Nothing needed to be done to it. It was spotlessly clean. Everything was sparkling from top to bottom. Junior may spend most of the time at Tani’s, but the hours he spent at Steve’s were productive ones. Except it made Steve jittery that there was nothing for him to do.

There was one thing he desperately needed to do, he just didn’t want to. But, he was well aware that if he left it too long, it might become beyond repair and he could not bear that result. He hustled out of his house and got in his truck. He drove fairly slowly, Danny would have been shocked. Steve knew he was in no hurry to arrive at his destination.

He parked the truck in front of nice ranch-style home. He was at Rachel’s new place which was in a nice, but far more middle-class neighborhood, than any of the homes she had lived in while married to Stan. He was well aware that Charlie had a check-up with the doctor today, so he was fairly confident that the only person he would be dealing with would be Grace.

She answered the door when he rang the bell and her eyes grew round and her lip started to tremble.

“No, no Gracie…nothing’s wrong with Danno. He’s at PT with Lou. I was just hoping now would be a good time for us to talk?”

She visibly relaxed, stepped aside to let him in and then led the way to the breakfast nook. She still hadn’t said anything to greet him, merely waved him to a chair and sank into one herself.

Steve was always the fast, rip off the band-aid kind of guy.

“Look, Gracie, I know you’re mad at me and I’m sorry. You’re right and I am wrong. And I am sorry that I left your dad so soon after he was shot. I should have stayed until he got back on his feet again. The fact is I told him that I needed to go to find peace, but the more I think about it, the more I think I was just running away. I don’t expect you to understand…”

“That’s where you’re wrong Uncle Steve. I do understand. The fact that you know you shouldn’t have left and that you’re sorry means a lot to me.” 

Grace stopped and her eyes filled with tears. This was very hard for her but she needed her uncle to understand. 

“I love you very much, but I was so disappointed when you left because it was as though you didn’t see or care how bad my dad was doing. The one thing I always count on is that you and Danno are best friends and you are always there to take care of each other. I could never count on my Mom and Danno taking care of each other, or Stan and my Mom taking care of each other; But I knew you and Danno always were together and were always friends even if you were fighting, so…..”  
Here she broke off into sobs.

“I was so afraid Danno was going to die this time…and you weren’t even heeerree!”

Steve rose and made his way around the table to her. He was afraid he was going to be rejected, but he couldn’t stand to see her cry like that. He knelt down next to her chair and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“Gracie. I’m not perfect. I made a mistake. I am going to try with everything I have to make it up to you and Charlie and your dad for making that mistake. I left him when he needed me and I won’t do that again. I’m going to get him back on his feet. I don’t make any promises on whether I am going to stay or go when he is healed, but I promise that I will talk to you and your Dad about it and I won’t go anywhere if he needs me? Okay?”

Grace hugged him tight and sobbed into his shoulder for a few minutes. He could feel her trying to gather control of herself and she pulled herself back and sat straight. She swiped at her eyes and hiccupped just a little. Once she felt she had herself in hand, she smiled softly at this man who had been more of a second father to her than Step-Stan. She loved him so much but he had disappointed her deeply. While she had her mom’s (or was it really her dad’s?) hardheadedness in spades, she also had her father’s goodness, loyalty, and ability to forgive. She drew herself together and looked her beloved uncle straight in the eye.

“Okay, Uncle Steve. I can’t say I’m happy with all of this, but I know that we all make mistakes, and if there is one thing that Danno always tells me, it’s that if someone is sorry you have to give them the benefit of the doubt so they can do better. I love you so much. Please do better.”

“I love you too, Gracie and I will do better, I swear.”

***************************************************************************************************************

Over the next several months, Steve could tell that the bond he had shared with Grace ever since she came into his life as a little girl was returning to what it had been. She and Steve had truly mended their fences. They were back to heckling Danny and ganging up on him to keep up with his PT, his diet, and whatever else they could find to chide him about. Steve was back to always being Uncle Steve and when she started soliciting his opinion on her classes for the next semester, he knew that she had truly forgiven him. He just hoped that sometime in the future, he might actually forgive himself.

He and Danny had taken to PTSD therapy with their usual commitment to any project. Steve with his laser like focus and Danny with a sarcastic appreciation of the fact that the therapy was helping him. They had both undertaken the therapy certain that they were only doing it because the other one needed it so badly. They would never have done it for themselves. But, at night, in the dark, after a couple of beers, each of them was able to confess to the other how some coping method had helped that day, or that maybe they needed to take some time by themselves to employ a tapping therapy. 

Neither Steve nor Danny had returned to Five-0 yet. Steve had an extended leave of absence and while the Governor would call periodically, she did not presss. She was afraid if she did, she would lose him completely. Danny’s doctor refused to release him after his setback. He knew that a premature return to duty could be devastating to Danny’s recovery.

Five-0 was still operating well. Lou was acting commander and they had brought Lincoln Cole on board. The teams ended up being mostly Junior and Tani, Adam and Quinn, and Lou and Lincoln. Every one of the team had both Steve and Danny on speed dial and most days would find the friends helping the team with some assignments and Danny often took on some portion of the load of paperwork, as he was still the best at figuring out how to parse what op had happened that day into something a little more palatable than “it just exploded.” The team spent a lot of time at the beach house unwinding and sharing their lives.

Danny and Steve had settled in their chairs by the beach. They had just returned from dropping Grace at the airport. She was returning to college in LA. She had pled her case with Danny to be able to transfer to UH, and as much as he wanted to agree to have his baby close, he refused. He knew the pre-Med program she was in was unparalleled. She had a four-year ride and had been acing her classes. There was no way she was going to sacrifice any part of her bright future to nursemaid a sick old dude. He could sympathize with the Mama bird who had just kicked its baby out of the nest.

Steve and Danny had their friendship back on track. Danny was healing. He was even putting on a little weight but he was still far lighter than Steve was used to seeing him. Danny for his part knew that Steve was running on fumes these days. The liver transplant, the radiation poisoning, and the things he had put his body through over the years were catching up with him. Neither of them were the bright, young, cocky guardians of the island that they were ten years ago when they first met. But neither of them were quite ready to call it completely quits yet.

They were doing a lot of talking about where they wanted to be; what they wanted to do; how they wanted their lives to go. But, they definitely weren’t coming up with any conclusions.

Steve confessed he did not want to go back to heading up Five-0. He knew that he wasn’t in shape to lead the team the he loved in the way that he wanted. He could not be out in the field anymore. He knew that if he wasn’t able to physically lead the charge, he wouldn’t be happy being a second banana under anyone else. As far as money, he was set. Between the hazard pay he had earned in the military, his military pension, his Five-0 pension, money left to him and Mary by their father and Aunt Deb, Steve was sitting pretty. He never spent a ton and he didn’t have a lot of wants or needs. He would never touch one dime of the money his mother had tried to leave.

Danny’s body had been through the ringer over the last few years. He had survived a biological weapon, plane crash, donated an organ to Steve and been shot in the chest twice, and endured more beatings than anyone should have in a lifetime. He was tired and worn. He didn’t want to go back in the field. He knew he could take retirement, and he would have small pensions from both Newark PD and Hawaii Five-0 as well as retiree insurance. But, he was far from as well set as Steve was.

Steve tried to help with that by telling Danny to give up his rental. Junior was moving in with Tani, the two kids were going to give a real relationship a try. Steve told Danny that the house was just too big for one person and Danny was already installed in the main floor bedroom anyway. Charlie could have Steve’s old room and Grace could have Mary’s, which could also sub as a guest room when she was at school.

Danny really did not want to take Steve up on his offer. He felt like it was making himself too dependent on the other man. He talked it through in his individual therapy sessions and was surprised to find that his therapist, who also counseled Steve individually, was in favor of the idea. He felt that both Steve and Danny spent far too much time alone. He counseled that as long as they could establish certain ground rules and boundaries that they would do far better together than they had managed alone.  
They spent a lot of time in some joint therapy sessions putting together those boundaries and Danny finally agreed that he would give up the house in Manoa. Grace and Charlie were overjoyed. 

Now, they just had to figure out their careers. Danny insisted that 42 was just too young to hang it up forever, even though they could have probably managed it financially.

Steve was aware of Danny’s feelings and was thinking of what they could do. The restaurant had been an interesting idea, but at the end of the day it wasn’t anything that either of them really wanted. No, what they were good at and what they enjoyed was crime investigation. Protecting those around them. Helping the other guy. Taking the bad guys out. Where could they go with that?

*******************************************************************************************************  
Steve did some planning and had come to a decision. He made an appointment with the Governor and one with his attorney to put the details together, although he didn’t share any of these details with Danny. He knew that not getting Danny’s input might get him a solid uppercut to the jaw, but then Danny had put a lot of the restaurant details in place before he brought in Steve, so turn-about was fair-play and all that. ‘huh’ he thought to himself. ‘Danny’s right, I am a five year old.’

They were sitting out on the beach in their favorite spot. Steve waited until Danny had his second beer in him and had started on the third, and then broached the plan. 

Danny listened, and the only way Steve was sure Danny was hearing was by the clenching of his jaw and the increased pressure his grip was exerting on his Longboard.

“What? What’s the problem? It’s a great idea.”

“I don’t know about you, Steve, but I really don’t want to spend the next phase of my life being a cliché!”

“A cliché?? What are you talking about?”

“Steven, every cop the world over does one of two things when they retire. They open a bar. Or they open a security company. That, my friend, is a cliché.”

Steve thought for a minute and he could see Danny’s point.

“So, yeah. I guess that’s true. But, really Danno it’s perfect for us! With my intelligence background and your investigation skills we’ll do great. Steve spent some time outlining how the business could work. Danny was impressed that Steve had put so much research time in. This wasn’t the ‘leap before you look’ partner that stressed his every nerve. The more Steve spoke, the more Danny relaxed. Steve was definitely receiving the ‘okay, I am on board with this’ vibe from Danny.

Steve was becoming more eloquent as he described how great this new gig would work for them. “I’ve spoken to the governor and she can see some real possibilities for a partnership between the State, Five-0 and our new firm. I’ve already lined up two of the resorts as customers. The work is not going to be as physical as what we were doing and we don’t have to work full-time. We can take clients on as we want or as the cases interest us. You’d probably get to see Charlie a lot more.”

“Oh ho! Don’t you dare! You know getting time with my kid is my kryptonite.” Then Danny stopped and scrunched up his face. “What do you mean you’ve lined up customers? We don’t even have a firm yet, or a name!”

“Sure we do, Danny – look!” And with a flourish Steve produced a business card.

Danny’s eyes bulged out of his head. If he were a little more recovered he thought he would have bounded out of his chair and beaten Steve with his beer bottle, but he just didn’t have the reserves anymore to try and prevent the crazy from infiltrating every part of his life.

“Oh for the love of God! What the hell! Where did you get the idea for this! Couldn’t you ASK just once!”

Danny was screaming and gesticulating…the little piece of paper flew out of his hand to land on the beach while Steve tried to calm him down and explain.

The business card proclaimed in bright, embossed letters “McDanno Security Consultants, LLC.”

They were in business together for the next thirty years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. I just could not imagine a world where Danny and Steve did not stay together to the end. I am more of a bromance than a romance person, but I think you could see this however you want. I appreciate all the comments - they helped me so much in developing my version of their story


End file.
